Unwriting the Past
by StrangerEmotion
Summary: A young Severus Snape exchanges minds with his older counterpart in what seems like a freak potions accident. But when the past starts changing around them all, can anyone ignore the strong possibility that this twist of fate was someone's design?


**Unwriting the Past**

**Or Help, my future self is wrecking time as we know it**

* * *

**Here's a little plot bunny who wouldn't stop chewing on my ankles until I published it. I'm gonna name it Lil Sev and love it forever and ever. For those of you worried about The Royal House, don't be. I have a fair bit more of that written as well. Just need to mind a natural stopping place for the next chapter. Anyway, without further ado, here's a little story from Severus Snape's POV.**

* * *

Severus Snape had never felt so vulnerable in his life. He hung, upside down, while his cheap, fading grey underwear was on display for everyone to see. And then she appeared. He saw the flames of her hair whip around in stolen fury as she berated Potter yet again for humiliating him. Didn't she see? Didn't she know this entire affair was orchestrated with her in mind? He wanted to lash out. He wanted to finally make her see. But just as he was about to open his mouth, he felt a strange numbness overtake his body. He couldn't move it at all, and then he became aware that his vision was fading. Briefly, he wondered if Potter had just decided to kill him and be done with it finally.

It was only a brief thought because the next thing he saw was the darkened potions classroom with various faces staring up at him that he did not recognize. Who were these people? They looked to be in his year, Gryffindors and Slytherins, but he didn't recognize a single one of them. One of them looked like a younger brother of Lucius Malfoy. Another looked like a green eyed Potter. Just what the hell was going on?

A girl with a riotous collection of brown curls and warm honey colored eyes spoke with some concern, "Professor Snape? Are you alright? I tried to stop Neville's potion from hitting you. Please say something, sir."

He hid his shock at learning he was a Professor to these people. That could only mean one thing, he'd traveled to the future somehow, obviously into his older self's body. But she did seem legitimately concerned about him, and that was more shocking in fact.

"I hardly think I should need your assistance, you insufferable chit of a girl." He retaliated, still mad about Lily's so called defense of him.

Her eyes dimmed a little, and he regretted his harshness. Sure, she is a Gryffindor, but so is Lily. Or was. He couldn't be sure exactly when he was. "I'm sorry for presupposing that you did, sir. It won't happen again."

Feeling strangely regretful, he moved past the incident quickly. "Well? What are you all waiting for? A written invitation? Get back to work!"

He moved around back to his desk, and surreptitiously checked his appearance in a conjured mirror. The reflection staring back at him was at least twenty year older… if not more considering it's haggard appearance. He examined the stack of papers before him, essays liberally marked with red in his own spiky handwriting. He read a few comments and realised he was one of those Professors. It was not entirely unexpected.

Looking over one Miss Granger's essay, he couldn't see why his older self had marked her so harshly. Sure, she didn't seem like she was taking any leaps of logic and was instead playing it very safe and by the book. And she also seemed to need to write as small as she possibly could to fit more unnecessary references in. But her research on the topic was solid, at the very least. "Miss Granger. I need to speak with you after class." He hissed out, imitating what he thought his older self would most likely say.

He was unsurprised when it was the same girl from earlier. His leap of faith had paid off.

She nodded, and wisely chose not to ask what for. Not that the people sitting near her were quite as wise.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the Potter look-a-like who was currently fuming at him for daring to assert Professorial authority. He smirked, "Have something to say in her defense? Please do humor me. I'm sure Miss Granger simply can't defend herself against a simple student-teacher meeting."

The red haired buffoon sitting next to Potter junior bristled. "Hermione is bloody brilliant. It's you we don't trust."

He chuckled, "And now we see foolish Gryffindor sentimentality at it's finest. The both of you. Detention. Tonight." He bit out the final words with a sort of glee he'd never felt before. "One more word out of either of you this class and I will personally take every point Gryffindor has won so far."

He felt he mimicked himself rather well when every Gryffindor in the room blanched. The Slytherins were looking at him in awe. So far, so good. If no one realised who he really was, or when he was from, the better off he would be.

He turned back to the papers on his desk, a few were still left unmarked. One caught his eye that was completely blank, except for that red ink. He picked it up casually and narrowed his eyes at it.

_**Remain Calm.**_

_**If you are reading this, no doubt you have already been privy to Miss Granger's overeagerness with regards to the potions "accident". You have also successfully regained control of the potions classroom, as I knew you'd be able to, and now I should like to talk to you... One Half-Blood Prince to another.**_

_**First of all, the year is 1996., ihe school year is nearly over as it's already May. However, instead of spending insufferable months with our parents, you will be living at Spinner's End with only the company of the worst of the Marauders. No, not Potter or Black, but Pettigrew. He is the worst because he betrayed Lily Evans and led to her demise.**_

_**And that brings us around to why I have switched bodies with you. I have invented a spell that lets me change bodies with a younger version of myself. Thereby also flouting the Grandfather paradox. I know, I know… We are brilliant. There will be time for self aggrandizing later, for now I have a mission for you.**_

_**Tell no one of my plans and Lily may yet live. I cannot hope that she will live while also choosing me over Potter, that is a vain hope. But I can see to her survival.**_

_**Of course, that necessitates a change in how we shall win against the Dark Lord. It may not be possible to do both. I have hope that that is not the case.**_

_**Now, each second I am in your body will correspond to a second you are in mine. So, do your best not to reveal yourself over the coming months as I enact my plan. I suspect you have already begun measures to do just that. I will trust your instincts in this matter.**_

_**One more thing, the body you are inheriting is marked as a Death Eater, but is really a spy for Dumbledore, and knows advanced Occlumency if you can just trigger it.**_

_**Remember Lily's eyes.**_

_**The rest of this year and the next's lessons plans are sorted in our private chambers. You won't remember where they are so I have included a map to them as well as the steps needed to take down the wards. After memorizing both, destroy them.**_

Severus picked up the map first, it showed the path from his current location to his new private quarters. He recognized where it was immediately. He often hid near there when he wanted to avoid the Marauders. Down that corridor was an invisible door in the cobblestone wall that led into a small nook of a room. As far as he knew, the Marauders had no knowledge of the nook. Unless, of course, Lily had betrayed the location to precious Potter.

He burned the map in his hand with nonverbal magic, causing several students to screech their chairs away from him. He smirked, looking up from the flames to see which students were still working. Only one was continuing to focus on her potion. His black eyes narrowed at the class. The Slytherins were the first to get back to work. That suggested he had the loyalty of most of them. Was he Slytherin Head of House?

Slughorn must be retired, or dead, he wasn't exactly a young wizard by any means. Sinistra must have declined the Head of House position. He wondered who else was on the faculty still, and what new faces there were.

He spent the rest of the period studying the instructions for taking down and resetting his wards. At the end of the period he went around, cauldron to cauldron, and Evanescoed the truly bad potions while wandlessly taking samples of the ones Acceptable and above. He briefly paused at Miss Granger's cauldron, and a small smile curled on his lips. "Next time try using a gold strainer of the essence of eel," He whispered as he bent over to inspect her potion, "Platinum would be preferable but the prices on gold are far more favourable."

Louder, for the rest of the class to hear, he spoke, "Mediocre, Miss Granger."

Malfoy Junior snickered. Severus refrained from rolling his eyes, the boy was far too transparent to be a proper Slytherin. Must be the mother's influence.

Miss Granger brought her eyes up to his in defiance. "Thank you for your input, sir."

He nodded slightly in approval before moving through the rest of the students. He had gotten more than a sample from hers.

"Hermione's potion is not mediocre." He heard someone mumble. His head swiveled to glare at who had spoken.

"Harry, don't." Miss Granger warned her friend. A wise idea, if a trifle late.

"So, the Great Harry Potter has a mastery in Potions now, does he?" Severus taunted. "When did you find the time?"

"You know I don't. But that's not the point." Potter ground out between gritted teeth.

Severus smirked, "I think we are all eagerly waiting for you to define this so called point. Again you fail to realise the method in which I conduct my teaching is entirely up to me, Potter."

"Yeah? Well you don't have to be a bloody arse about it."

Severus smile widened like a shark, there was blood in the water. "I think that makes it a weeks worth of detentions. Wouldn't you agree, Miss Granger?"

She nodded imperceptibly and both of the boys groaned.

"As I thought. Class dismissed with the exception of Miss Granger."

Everyone filed out in a blink of an eye, not wanting to occur more of his wrath. He let her stand there for a few minutes without saying anything. She just examined the jars on the back wall with disinterest. After a few more minutes of tense waiting, he spoke, "You could be great, you know. I know this must be a shock to hear me say this… but what can I say? I'm not feeling much like myself today. You have the talent at research but you stop before you can take the next step. Tell me, have you ever tried to deviate at all from the established procedure? Have you ever tried to create your own spell?"

She stood shock still. "It's only because I very much doubt you could be Imperiused or a Polyjuiced imposter that I say this… Would it have made any difference? You can't show me the slightest bit of favor in front of the Slytherins."

Something about that didn't sit well with him, why shouldn't he be able to… unless she was a Muggleborn. Then it made perfect sense. "Be that as it may, it should make a difference to you. Not whether or not you may receive admiration for it. The mind is not merely a storehouse for information. It gives rise to the spark of invention. Perhaps I misjudged your propensity in that arena."

She stepped forward, closer to his desk. "I figured out your logic puzzle in first year. Which is when I knew it wasn't you after the stone. If you were after it, you wouldn't be so dumb as to leave any left. Yours was also the last test, that must have meant something. Not only does the Headmaster trust you, out of all the teachers he trusted you the most. It's not my propensity that is the problem. I've tried so hard to impress you. I tried in so many ways to give you your due respect. But I've received no indication until now that you even recognized my effort. I'm only human, Professor Snape."

He wasn't really gleaning much with this tack, so he switched subjects. "If I do so secretly, even that could be dangerous for my position. Unless you have learned Occlumency."

She sighed, "I know Harry was a huge prat for invading your privacy like that, but I wish you would reconsider teaching him Occlumency. He's not going to be able to defend himself against the connection in his mind without you. I've tried reading up on it, but all the books say it's best to practice with an experienced Legilimens whom you can trust."

"Then he really should be learning from the Headmaster, shouldn't he?"

"It's too bad the Headmaster isn't here to teach him. I fear it may be too late." She spoke quietly, while staring at the wood grain of his desk.

"Who did you learn from, sir?" She asked.

He didn't really know the answer to that. "That, Miss Granger, isn't for you to know."

She nodded in acceptance. "I think this is the most we have ever spoken. I just remembered, aren't you breaking Educational Decree Number Twenty-Six?"

He raised his eyebrow at the question to cover up his confusion. "That is of no importance to me, Miss Granger."

She smiled shyly, "I didn't think it would be considering how you last spoke to the so called High Inquisitor. Oh wait, she's 'Headmistress' now."

How could he get the name of this woman off of her without revealing he didn't know her? "Indeed."

"She's evil." Miss Granger declared. "I'm not just saying that. I really do think she is evil. Not surprising though, considering she was hired for DADA. Who in their right mind wears that much pink, honestly?"

Severus raised his eyebrow.

Miss Granger became flustered. "Sorry for taking up so much of your time, Professor. I just never realized-"

"That I'm human too?" He spoke, parroting back her earlier words.

She nodded, solemn for a moment. "I'll take your advice to heart."

She left the classroom quietly after that. He remained for a few moments before he decided to practice his wards. He cleaned up after the last class, gathered his things, and left while warding the classroom behind him. The halls were empty, due to it being either lunch or dinner in the Great Hall, he figured. He expected that would be over soon, and they would be rushing to their next class or to their Common Rooms. He noticed that he had grown a bit taller in those twenty years, by the way his gait seemed to move him that much further down the halls. His first task was figuring out what time of day it was. If only his older self had thought to tell him that very pertinent bit of information. The man figured out time travel that could actually change the future, but he couldn't figure out that his younger self might like to know what time of day he had found himself in.

He loped up the stairs, the ridiculous cloak flapping behind him. And spied the student body pouring out of the Great Hall in droves. He hid in a shadowy alcove by force of habit. His eyes easily spotted the Granger girl's bushy head immersed in a book as her two friends talked animatedly over her head. They were some of the last to make it out of the Great Hall.

He saw her lips mumble something to the two boys before she made a beeline towards him. Only it wasn't him at all, she was going right past him and towards the Library, he suspected. "Miss Granger." He whispered.

She stopped for a moment, looking like she was still intently reading her book. She didn't say a word back to him, but he knew she was listening.

"It's as I thought. You weren't reading at all. Your deception is almost worthy of a Slytherin." He slowly intoned as the hallway cleared out to only the two of them.

"I'm glad that it was only 'almost' worthy, sir." She spoke behind the text, still not turning to look at him, should anyone be watching.

He hid deeper into the shadows as he tried to suppress a smile. "Off to the Library little lion. Before something nasty comes along."

She started moving again without saying anything in return. A part of him was disappointed, she was an interesting girl…

**Meanwhile, in the past**

Severus opened his eyes to the exact moment he expected to see. The moment it had all gone down hill. Not that there really was an uphill in his life. Those thoughts were immaterial though, as soon as he laid eyes on her. His heart clenched painfully. She was real, no longer an overused memory of a happier time.

First thing first, to get himself out of this mess. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the counter jinx. He knew it would work even without his wand, which he still had. He silently cast the spell and watched with satisfaction as Potter was blasted out of his pants, skidding across the grass.

He fell gracelessly back down onto the grass, but managed to get his robes back down in the process. He picked himself up and left, not even bothering to taunt Potter. He knew all of Potter's tricks and had had twenty years to find a counter to every one of them. The fact of the matter was that the Marauder's were outclassed now. He really didn't want to have to concern himself with such rank amateurs anymore. Which was why he was walking directly to the Headmaster's office. His plan couldn't succeed without the knowledge the Headmaster surely possessed.

The halls were empty because everyone was celebrating outside. He rushed as quick as he could to the stone gargoyle and wasted no time rattling off a list of candies until one seemed to work. He bounded up the spiral stairs and knocked forcefully on the wooden door.

Or would have, if it hadn't opened mid swing. As a result he mostly stumbled into the Headmasters office as the man set across from him, looking very amused indeed. "Mr. Snape, shouldn't you be down on the grounds celebrating the end of your O.W.L.'s and the end of the school year? What brings you to my office in such a rush?"

Severus straightened up into his normal posture, the one he had perfected over the years to intimidate others. "The end of Voldemort, Headmaster."

"What foolish thing have you done, boy?" The Headmaster stood to his full height and descended upon Severus. But Severus was not to be intimidated anymore. "Severus Snape doesn't know Occlumency, who are you?"

Severus smirked. "Oh, but he does… now."

The Headmaster looked confused for a moment before turning to frightful clarity. "I'd have never thought it possible. The time turners make sure that time has a way of protecting itself… but what you have done completely supercedes such laws. Why have you done this? What could be so bad about the future that you would risk unraveling time to do it?"

Severus turned grim. He could tell the Headmaster the truth, but he doubted that would be enough to convince him of the rightness of Severus' actions. "We lose… the light side that is, in case you still perceive me to be destined for evil. A prophecy was made that pit a boy against the monster and 'neither can live whilst the other survives'. The boy… he dies. Voldemort wins. The only person I have ever cared about dies in the process. I'm forced to lie behind enemy lines and watch great atrocities take place. I thought of suicide, briefly, before I came up with this plan. It seemed a far better option."

"Let me see." Albus spoke with pain in his voice.

Severus shuddered, closing his eyes tight. "It's best if you don't. I'm not sure what effect that will cause on the timeline."

A knobbly hand was laid on his shoulder. "It was Miss Lily Evans, wasn't it?"

Severus choked back a sob, he wasn't faking his grief now. "She was in the way. I tried to persuade him to spare her. But, in the end, she would rather have died protecting her son than to live without him. I failed her. I cannot fail her this time, Headmaster. I just can't."

The hand gently squeezed his shoulder. "What do you plan to do?"

"You told me that you feared Voldemort had done something that split his soul, causing him to be immortal, so long as an object with that piece of soul was still around. I know he has done so at least twice. Once was a diary, Lucius Malfoy had it in my time. We destroyed it but he still lived. He must have more. I know not how many. Probably less during this time, if we can get to them. If we destroy the all and then kill him… Many lives will be saved." Severus opened his red rimmed eyes, he didn't exactly cry prettily.

"Including Miss Evans'." Albus spoke.

Severus only nodded. "I will still have to take his Mark if I am to be successful. You need someone on the inside. I was always useful to you in that way. I can be again. This summer, I will have done it. There would be nothing left holding me back. Isolated and hurt, Voldemort will prey on that to lure me into his group."

Albus moved away from him and set back down in his wingback chair. "What do you need me to do?"

"Tell me everything you know about Horcruxes. And when you are done with that, get me Horace Slughorn. He knows how many Voldemort will try to make. It's in his memories, I can fix them for you. The real memories are still in his mind. And then we will piece out what he might have turned into a Horcrux, and make a plan to destroy them."

"You're very determined, Mr. Snape."

"I didn't come from the future to twiddle my thumbs, Headmaster."

"Very well, in the meantime, I suggest you enjoy the sun. We can better plan for the coming War tomorrow as it's a free day. What do you say to breakfast here in my office tomorrow, Mr. Snape?" The Headmaster smiled warmly at him. He wasn't sure if he should trust it, even if Severus had basically handed Dumbledore the keys to the kingdom.

"That sounds agreeable to me, Headmaster." Severus spoke, turning around to leave. "Good day, sir."

He was barely out of the Headmaster's office when he ran into Lily. She looked pissed, but she was still talking to him. Which meant something had already changed about the past. "What was that back there? Why'd you rush off without a word? What's with the secret meeting with the Headmaster? Are you telling on Potter?"

Severus rolled his eyes, spare him the thousand questions from Gryffindor women. "As if telling on Potter would do me any good, Lils. You know whose side he would take."

She looked mischievously at him, and his heart skipped a beat. "That counter jinx was wicked."

"I would never invent a spell I couldn't get myself out of." He smiled, lying to her face. Because he hadn't invented the counter jinx to that one until several years later. He wondered if it was wrong to still be attracted to her, even now that his mind was so much older than his body. He decided it didn't make much difference as she would never reciprocate. "Did you see if Potter got grass stains on his-"

"He did!" She peeled out in laughter. Her eyes were sparkling happily, he had missed her happiness more than he could say. Why had he ever tried to ruin it was beyond him. What a foolish young man he had been.

"Perfect."

But he was talking about her.


End file.
